RIO DE JANEIRO - The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) said Wednesday it has retrieved the flight recorders from a small plane which crashed earlier in the day in the country's northeast region.

The recorders will be taken to the Center for Investigation and Prevention of Flight Accidents (Cenipa) for analysis, while the plane's engines, which were also retrieved, will be sent to the Aerospace Science Department for tests, it said in a statement.

The air force said an investigation was going on into the crash of the two-engine aircraft of Noar Airlines, which hit the ground of an empty lot of a beachside residential area minutes after its takeoff from the Recife International Airport, killing all 16 people on board.

The pilot reported problems shortly after takeoff and tried to make an emergency landing, but the plane exploded soon after hitting the ground.